In this week’s MLB The Show 20 stream, featuring Paul Sporer, Ben Clemens, and Dan Szymborski, the Red Sox head to New York to start a three-game series against the Yankees.

Mookie Betts was a huge real-life loss for Boston, but the PlayStation Sox have surprised and spent most of April at the top of American League East. Boston (22-17) is currently just three games behind the first-place Yankees thanks to the digital good health of Chris Sale (5-1, 2.44 ERA, 2.1 WAR) and Collin McHugh (3-0, 2.97 ERA, 1.0 WAR). Alex Verdugo has struggled at times as the de factor replacement for Betts and currently has a .636 OPS, but Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez rank first and sixth in the American League in WAR, respectively.

The Red Sox have benefitted from a healthy Chris Sale, but the Yankees have also lucked out in this alternate reality, with Luis Severino having avoided Tommy John surgery. The Yankees are cruising on an eight-game winning streak after sweeping the Tigers, Blue Jays, and Pirates. In the rotation, only Jordan Montgomery has an ERA above four and the Yankees offense leads baseball in runs (214), home runs (68), batting average (.296), and slugging percentage (.507). Gio Urshela has continued where he left off in 2019 and is currently tied with Aaron Judge for the team lead in home runs (10).

Tuesday afternoon’s FanGraphs Live stream, starting at noon ET, will feature a discussion of our OOTP Brewers, who have some crucial decisions to make. The bullpen is barely holding together. Lorenzo Cain is improving. What can we do to improve our fortunes without mortgaging the future? Tune in and help me decide. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m wading into the gaming and streaming space with Yeoman’s Work, a lo-fi, multimedia presentation that follows my pursuit of a championship in the baseball simulator, Diamond Mind Baseball, paired with single-camera footage from my baseball video archives. Below is its maiden voyage, which features a rematch of my league’s 2019 championship series paired with video from a few 2019 fall instructional league games between the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers.

My initial plan was to stream Diamond Mind (henceforth DMB) on the FanGraphs’ Twitch account the same way my colleagues have been streaming Out of the Park Baseball and MLB The Show. But my home upload speeds are insufficient for streaming, and it was only after several failed attempts that I diverted to the format below, which enables some cool post-production elements that I’ll continue to explore. My goal with the archived game footage is to feature video that is either relevant to my recent prospect work or to the current discourse surrounding baseball culture. In the pilot that means focusing on prospects in the Rangers and Padres systems, as I’ve recently written about both.

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In Friday’s FanGraphs Live stream with Paul Sporer, Ben Clemens, and Dan Szymborski, the Atlanta Braves head to New York to face off against the Mets in a weekend showdown between NL East rivals.

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In Friday afternoon’s FanGraphs Live stream, starting at 2 PM ET, we are bringing you a doubleheader of games featuring surprising early contenders.

In our first game, Wade Miley makes his 2020 debut for the Cincinnati Reds, a team off to a shocking 21-3 start and standing comfortably at the top of the NL Central. As we near the end of April, Jesse Winker leads the National League with a .405 batting average and Trevor Bauer, at 3-0 with a 2.24 ERA, ranks third in the National League with 1.2 WAR. Five Reds currently rank in the top 20 in position player wins: Eugenio Suárez (1st), Joey Votto (4th), Winker (12th), Shogo Akiyama (14th), and Tucker Barnhart (19th). Of the regulars, free agent signing Nick Castellanos has been the only disappointment, hitting .216/.303/.364 in the early going for -0.5 WAR.

That Arizona is tied for second place in the NL West, 3 1/2 games behind the leader, isn’t surprising. What is surprising, however, is that the leader is the Colorado Rockies, not the Los Angeles Dodgers! The Diamondbacks are coming off getting swept by the Atlanta Braves, but get Madison Bumgarner for today’s turn against Miley, likely Cincy’s weakest starting pitcher.

Over in our American League game, we get a prime Dallas Keuchel vs. Shohei Ohtani matchup as the 15-11 White Sox take on the 12-13 Angels. The White Sox have fallen back to second in the division with the Twins winning nine of their last 10 games, but get Luis Robert back in the lineup coming off a strained hamstring. Their Nomar Mazara gamble has paid off in the early going with Mazara standing at a .377/.402/.740 triple-slash with seven homers in 21 games. Gio González has struggled with a 7.23 ERA, but Keuchel has been a prime pickup so far and has yet to allow a home run in 33 1/3 2020 innings.

So join Paul Sporer, Ben Clemens, and Dan Szymborski for some hot virtual baseball action right here, on this very page!

Today’s virtual broadcast at 2 PM ET, featuring Paul Sporer, Ben Clemens, and Dan Szymborski, is a clash of aces as the Cleveland Indians (11-9) travel to Fenway Park to start a four-game set with the Boston Red Sox (12-8).

The Red Sox are coming off a much-needed day of rest following two blowout losses to the A’s (14-1, 14-5) that snapped Boston’s six-game winning streak. It’s a good time for an appearance for Chris Sale, who is 2-0 in four starts, with 30 strikeouts in 29 innings, a 2.83 FIP, and a 3.41 ERA.

The blazing start of Xander Bogaerts continued with a home run in yesterday’s A’s blowout, giving the shortstop five round-trippers in 19 games. With a .338/.483/.647 line, Bogaerts leads the American League in WAR with 1.8, ahead of Marcus Semien (1.5) and Mallex Smith (1.3).

Cleveland, third in the AL Central and a game behind the White Sox and Twins, turns to Shane Bieber (2-2, 3.45). Bieber was abandoned by the FIP gods in his last start, allowing 12 hits over 4.1 innings against the Rays in a 4-0 loss. José Ramírez is off to a better start than last year with five home runs already. In 2019, Ramírez didn’t hit his fifth home run until June. Francisco Lindor, on the other hand, is still yet to peek above replacement level and his .152/.243/.242 line in 17 games is reminiscent of Ramírez’s struggles last year.

So check back on this page for the live video and with integrated live chat, join in the action! And when the stream is done, drop us a follow on Twitch to be notified of the latest streams. As time goes on, we’ll be having a lot more than just MLB the Show!

Welcome to Virtual Opening Day 2.0! April 9 represents what would have been Opening Day after MLB’s initial delay to the start of the season.

By popular vote, today’s game, streamed live at 2 PM ET by Paul Sporer, Ben Clemens, and Dan Szymborski, will feature the Los Angeles Dodgers heading to St. Louis to take on Carlos Martínez and the Cardinals.

The Cardinals (7-5) are hoping to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers. After today’s game, the Red Birds start a nine-game road trip against the Cubs, Dodgers, and Rockies. In the NL Central’s early going, the Cincinnati Reds (10-1) are at the top of the division thanks to a nine-game winning streak. Carlos Martínez had a rough outing against the Reds in his season debut, but earned a no-decision after a quality start against the Orioles last week. C-Mart has yet to walk a batter this season.

The Dodgers (8-4) stand tied at the top of the NL West with the Colorado Rockies, who have gone on a five-game winning streak since benching Ian Desmond. Reigning National League MVP Cody Bellinger’s cold start continues and after 12 games, his line still stands at a rough .187/.264/.229 with no homers and -0.4 WAR. Corey Seager, on the other hand, is off to the hottest start of his career and currently ranks third in the National League in WAR among position players.

Today at 2 PM ET, Paul Sporer, Ben Clemens, and Dan Szymborski will be viewing the home opener for the Los Angeles Angels (3-4), as the Houston Astros (5-2) come to town. Will the Astros bring a trash can large enough to contain Mike Trout?

Starting for the Angels is Griffin Canning (0-1, 23.63), seeking revenge after being roughed up on Saturday by these same Astros in his first regular season start since being shut down last August due to elbow inflammation. Canning had a short spring because of elbow soreness and received a PRP injection last month, so he may be on a short leash.

Tune in for all the “live” action and make sure to follow FanGraphsLive on Twitch to stay apprised of all of our streaming events!

Today we’re celebrating a first for FanGraphs: a live video stream!

Things have changed since FanGraphs’ founding 15 years ago. Nowadays, there are entire streaming platforms dedicated to communities of people who watch other people play games.

As an experiment (and to help fill the time until baseball comes back), we’re hosting a virtual Opening Day game, with the Mets and Nationals opener livecast by Paul Sporer, Ben Clemens, and Dan Szymborski using MLB The Show 20 on Playstation 4. So come hang out with us and watch the closest thing to a real game available!

To watch the game and listen to our live chat, you need nothing but your browser and our website. If you have a Twitch.tv account (free), you’ll also be able to join in the chat, just like in the ones we hold weekly.

Let us know what you think, and which other games you’d like to see streamed live!

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